A Vladimir Tod Story (Title Pending)
by Twisted-Persona
Summary: Vlad has just graduated from high school. All his friends have gone off to college, but he's not ready to move on just yet, so Vlad decides to go through high school again. And he meets some strangely familiar people along the way. I'm rating it T for later chapters.
1. Goodbye Bathory High! or not

**Author's Note: You can read this here or at my deviantart account. ****_ .com_**

**_Chapter 1: Goodbye Bathory High! ... or not._**

Vlad sat on the front steps of Nelly's old porch. He stared at the clouded sky with a vacant gaze, remembering all the good times he had had in that house. It was all over now. He leaned back against the cold stone of the exterior walls. Apart from Otis, Vlad had no one now. After graduation all his friends had ran off to college, even Henry had left him behind. They called occasionally, but it still felt like they'd abandonned him. And Nelly... Otis was still torn up over her. It was so much to take in all at once and on top of that, he needed to figure out what to do with his life. Vlad stood up slowly and walked to Bathory High, his depression evident from his step. He levitated himself up to the belfry and lit the candles that were placed around there. He reminised about the adventures he'd had there with his friends, from his first day as a freshman to the near-end of the town only some months ago. Surprizeingly, He missed this place. At that moment, Vlad wished for nothing more than the chance to relive those memories with his friends and loved ones...

"Hey, Otis, you're really going to be priciple of Bathory High School, aren't you?" Vlad asked, rolling the bit of cookie dough he had in his hand into a ball.

"Yes, Vladimir. Its a shame you won't be there though." Otis gave his nefew a warm smile. Vlad couldn't help but notice the pain in his uncle's eyes. It had been there since the funeral. He knew otis saw the same thing in his own eyes as well.

"Well, actually... I was thinking that maybe i may go back to Bathory High... as a freshman..." Vlad put his full attention on rolling the chocolate chip cookies, not wanting to look Otis in the eye.

Otis raised a questioning eyebrow. "How, Vladimir, do you expect to do that?"

"Well... You're going to be in charge and all... I thought you could put me on the student list..." Vlad gave him a sheepish grin.

Otis stared at his nefew as if he'd just gone mad. After a moment he sighed, "All right."

"I know you don't think its a good idea but... wait, what?" Vlad stared at Otis in disbelief. Did he actually just say yes?

"I said all right, Vladimir, but only if you're sure about this. Its a big desicion to make and you can't just quit if you're not happy with it. You'll have to repeat all four years. How much thought have you put into this?"

Vlad stared down at the table, a dark cloud falling over him, "Just enough..."

Otis watched him sadly and sighed again, "All right, Vladimir. I'll put you on the list and get you your classes. school starts on September seventeenth."

The two of them continued to make the cookies they had started on, but a strange silence had fallen over the room. After a few hours Vlad broke the silence, "Thank you. Otis."

Otis looked at his nefew and smiled then stood up and gave him a hug. Vlad was surprized for a moment then returned the embrace. They seperated and took a quick look at the kitchen. Vlad laughed, "This place is a mess!"

"We should clean it up. What would Nelly think?"Otis smiled.

Vlad smiled back, "We'd be so totally dead is she saw this mess."


	2. A Freshman Once More

**AN: Here's chapter 2. Let me know what you think.**

**_Chapter 2: A Freshman Once More_**

Vlad gathered his things into his backpack. Like him, it had survived the last four years with minimal lasting damage.

"Ok. I've got pencils, notebooks, folders... It looks like i've got everything i need to start school," Vlad zipped up the bag and sighed, "Back to High School..."

He headed down the stairs, out the front door, and to the car where Otis was waiting. The drive to school was quiet. Neither of them spoke to each other. Neither of them wanted to. Otis put the car in park in the faculty parking lot. Vlad went to open the the passenger door, but Otis put his hand on his shoulder. Vlad looked at him, his expression was serious but worried, "Are you sure about this, Vladimir?"

He thought a moment, looking out the window at the building looming just a few yards away then cast his gaze down at his hands, "Yes."

They both got out of the beat up old car and walked up the front steps of the school building. Otis went inside and left Vlad to wait on the steps. So, he sat down and waited for the first bell. While he waited kids started to trickle in. Some were freshman, others were sophmores and juniors. The Seniors didn't ever show up until last minute. When he gazed out at the edge of campus Vlad saw a strangley familiar face walking toward him. This person climbed the school steps and tugged on the door handle a few times then gave up and sank to the ground next to Vlad. Vlad inspected this stranger for a moment, he looked just like... "Henry?"

The kid turned his attention to him, seeming to just notice he was there, "Hmm? No, Name's Harvey. Who're you?"

Vlad sighed mentally. Of course it couldn't be Henry; Henry wasn't even in Bathory. "I'm Vlad. Its nice to meet you. why such the hurry to get inside?"

"I'm here to get my schedule and locker number. I just want to get it and get this day over with. I've heard High School's a drag."

" Yeah, it really is, but you can't get in until first bell. Then you gotta sit through an introductory speech before you get to go to your classes."

Harvey gave him a questioning look, "How do you know so much about this place? What year are you?"

"M-My uncle's the principle, so he's told me all this stuff already. I'm just starting here though." Vlad explained quickly.

"Your uncle's the principle? That's cool, man. Well, hey it was nice meeting you. maybe we could chat again some time." Harvey gave Vlad a friendly punch to the shoulder and waved goodbye as he walked away into a group of other freshman. By the looks of the group, they were popular. _Not only does he look like Henry_, Vlad thought while watching Harvey, _he acts like him too_. He sighed, wondering what Henry was doing right now. _He's probably chatting with college girls before class_. He rolled his eyes, it would be just like Henry to do that. Vlad stood up just as the first bell rang and went inside to the gym to sit through the boring introduction speech for the second time.

After the speech he recieve his class schedule. His first class was math. Just great. At least, since he had taken algebra already, he should know all the answers. Vlad took a seat in the back and dropped his bag next to his desk. The rest of the class filtered in and found desks. When the first period bell rang, indicateing that anybody not in a classroom was tardy, the teacher stood and announced, "Hello, i'm Mr. Green, your algebra 1 teacher. Like you, I started at this school this year. Since we're all new, i'm sure we'll get along very well. The first order of buissness will be-"

A knock at the classroom door interupted Mr. Green in mid-sentence. The door openned and a pretty girl with chocolate brown hair stepped into the room. She wore a pink sundress with pink flats. Her hair was held up in a ponytail by a pink ribbon and her smile was so eerily familiar it gave Vlad chills. _Meredith?_

"I'm sorry i'm late. I couldn't find the classroom. I'm Miranda Riverstone."

gave her a friendly smile, "Yes, Ms. Riverstone, its good to have you here. Please take a seat."

Miranda took a seat in the front row and continued to tell the class what to expect this semester in his class. All the while Vlad stared at Miranda, taking in just how much like Meredith she was.

For everybody else school let out at three o'clock, but Vlad was a "Freshman" and his uncle was the principle, so Vlad couldn't drive and had to wait around for Otis to finish his work. He sat on the edge of Otis's desk and told him all about his day. Otis would interrupt occasionally to ask a question, but otherwise, he just sat there giving his nefew a strange look, like a mixture between sadness and… something else. What, Vlad wasn't certain, but he was sure he'd find out eventually. He sighed, "Over all, it wasn't that bad. I wonder if it'll stay that way this time."


	3. Trust

**_Chapter 3: Trust_**

Vlad stepped out into the hall after math. He watched Miranda stroll down the corridor with her friends, giggling and laughing like girls tend to do. She was just so... The way her chocolate brown hair fell so beautifully over her shoulders, and her eyes. Oh, man, her eyes! Like two of the brightest stars in the night sky. She was perfect, but this perfection was already known to Vlad, in a different girl. He swore, Miranda and Meredith could have been twins. A voice startled him out of his thoughts. It was Henry's voice, and for a moment he believe that it was Henry, but no. It was Harvey, and he looked a little worried, "Hey, man. You ok? You were just standing there looking a little dazed. Is everything alright?"

"Erm.. yeah. I'm fine. Where you headed to?"

"I got Algebra... how bout you?"

"English."

"Bummer. Mrs. Dill is a total bitch. I feel for ya."

"Thanks, man. Um, Hey. You wanna... maybe come by my place after school? We could hang out."

"Sure. I gotta do some stuff at home first but i'll be over by five, if that's ok."

"That's fine. I'll be here until my uncle gets off anyway... Oh, man! I'm gonna be late."

"Catch ya later." Harvey said before he slipped through the door to the algebra 1 room. Vlad got to his English class just before the bell and took his seat in the back. Mrs. Dill begun her lesson by collecting the class's homework assignment and making a face as she flipped through the papers. After she stuffed the homework in a drawer in her desk she scratched some things out on the chalkboard while grumbling to herself that children don't put as much effort into their work as they should.

Halfway through class, while Mrs. Dill was giving a lecture on the importance of hard work, the door flew open and two very tall very strong boys stomped in and took two open seats. Vlad whispered under his breath, "Great. Another Bill and Tom."

Mrs. Dill glowered at the boys, "Will, Dom, where have you two been? And why were you missing from class yesterday?"

The taller one, Will, gave Ol' Dill a big smirk, "We was in duh principle's office, gettin detention for skippin yesserday."

Dill was practically fuming, "You boys will sit up straight and speak properly in my class. Is that understood? You address your elders with respect."

Will and Dom shrugged and smirked. They ended class with three detentions each and two days worth of homework, plus the extra work Dill assigned the class for how the boys behaved. Vlad already hated them.

After school, when Vlad and Otis got home, Otis went upstairs to his home office to do some more work and Vlad sat in front of the TV waiting for Harvey to show up. At a few minutes after five he heard a knock at the door and went to answer it. Standing on the front steps was Harvey, looking slightly winded, as if he had ran to the house. Vlad opened the door and let him in, "Hey. Did you run here?"

Harvey stepped inside and threw his backpack on a chair, "Yeah. It took a big longer to finish everything at home than I thought so I ran so I wouldn't be late." and with that he and Vlad wondered off into the living room. The two worked on their homework with some action movie playing in the background. For once, Vlad was the one helping somebody with their work. After two hours of Algebra, Biology, and English the boys were finally finished, so they kicked back on the couch the see the end of the movie. Vlad stood up and asked, "I'm going to the kitchen, you want anything?"

Harvey thought for a moment then responded, "You got Pepsi?"

"Yeah. I'll be right back." and Vlad left. He came back a moment later with two cans of soda, handing one to Harvey he sat back on the couch and took a long drink. Vlad had been thinking all day about this. If He and Harvey were going to be best friends then Harvey had to know. Friends don't hide things from friends, and if Harvey and Henry were as alike as Vlad thought then he'd be cool with the fact the Vlad's a vampire. Vlad sat his soda can on the coffee table in front of him and turned to face Harvey. He cleared his throat then spoke, "Harvey? Can I trust you with a secret?"

Harvey gave Vlad a suspicious look, "If you killed somebody i'm not covering for you. I'm not made for prison."

Vlad shook his head, "No, nothing like that."

Harvey's look softened, "Ok. Then yeah, you can trust me."

Vlad took a deep breath, "Harvey... I'm a vampire."

Harvey stared at him blankly, "You're joking."

"No, I'm not." Vlad opened his mouth and let his fangs slide from his gums.

"Whoa." Harvey reached his hand out and touched one of the fangs, then pulled his hand back, "Ow! Damn, those are sharp!"

Harvey took a look at his finger. It was bleeding, just a little. He then looked at Vlad as if he were the eighth wonder of the world, "That is so cool."

Vlad smiled, ignoring the taste of blood in his mouth. They talked for a while after that. Vlad explained that he was actually 18 and in high school for the second time, about vampires and slayers and everything that happened in the last five years; and Harvey was totally cool with all of it.


	4. Constant Reminders

**AN: Chapter 4... This one's a bit surprizeing!**

_**Chapter 4: Constant Reminders**_

It was strange, how your emotions could cause you to feel real pain. How that pain invades every inch of your mind and takes over. Most people try to forget that pain, cover it up, push it to that very back of their thoughts; but its always there. It never really goes away, and after you finally push those memories away and think you're over them, something brings them flooding back in, like a tidal wave. Weither its an object, a person, a song or video, there are constant reminders of that pain that you try so hard to forget, and every time it kills you a little on the inside.

That's exactly how Vlad felt standing in front of his Aunt Nelly's old house. The house was big and empty, filled with only dust and sweet memories made sour by her passing. Most of his things were still in his room. Nothing in the house had been moved since she died. There was a "For Sale" sign in the yard and a few people came to look at the place, but nobody was interested. Everybody that came to look at the house were initially thrilled, as they had seen the photographs at the realtor's website, but once the entered their interest vanished and they were quick to leave. "Its a beautiful home," they all said, "but there's something off about it. It just doesn't feel right."

So the place sat empty, collecting dust. Vlad would visit occasionally, but he only got as far as the front steps, always stopping before going inside. Today was no different. He strode up on to the front porch and put his hand on the cold doorknob, then froze. He sighed, turned around, and sat down on the steps. It would be quite some time until he was ready to face his Aunt's death, and he was a fool to think that he'd be able to push his memories aside and go in the house. He hugged his knees as he thought of all the times he'd come home from school to Nelly baking cookies in the kitchen or watching her soap operas on the telly. All of the mornings when he would wake up and say "Good Morning" to her and she would say "Good Morning" back or ask him if he slept well. He remembered sneaking out in the middle of the night always worrying if she would wake up and catch him. Tears started to pour from his eyes as he sat alone on the steps with his memories. If Nelly were there she would have saw him through the window and come out to comfort him, but he was completely alone.

He heard a noise behind him, like someone coming down the stairs, and realized it was coming from inside the house. Nobody should be inside the house. He wrinkled his nose. Who was snooping around in Nelly's house? He stood up and gripped the doorknob, this time turning it until it clicked then slowly pushed open the door. The only light available was coming through the windows, so it was difficult to see. Even so though the sun was setting, there was enough light left to cast a shadow. He readied himself, unsure if the intrude was some punk kid or something more hostile. He crept up the stairs, careful not to make a sound. He searched the upstairs and didn't find anybody. If there was somebody there they were gone now... and it was already dark. He began trudging down the stair to go home when he heard something. It was a woman, and she was humming happily in some far off room downstairs. He picked his pace, practically flying down the stairs and ran toward the voice. He stopped when he got to the kitchen and stood staring the person in front of him. She stood there at the counter, haven't had notice him yet. The moon light coming through the windows passed directly through her, and the only coloring she had was a slight pale blue glow. She turned her head to look at him and smile, "Hello, Vlad."

The tears began to cascade down his cheeks again and he had a hard time getting the words out, when he did they were hushed and held all him misery, "Nelly...?"


End file.
